Cool!

Recycled Wool Rug

Farewell Cali Coco Bean

Miss Bean left us on my birthday, Sunday November 20th.

The saddest birthday I have ever had.

We miss her very much

Beanie's New Toy

Beanie's New Toy a video by fiveforty on Flickr.

Pumpkin Gnocchi

Pumpkin Gnocchi

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

Preparation time: 20 minutes.

Cooking time: 10 minutes.

This recipe makes 8 serving(s)

Pumpkin Gnocchi
Photography by Edward Pond

Nutritional information available online.

Ingredients

1/3 cup (75 mL) butter
1/4 cup (50 mL) pine nuts
12 fresh sage leaves
Gnocchi:
2 cups (500 mL) roasted pumpkin purée or roastedsquash purée, (see Perfect Puree, below)
1/2 cup (125 mL) grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground nutmeg
3 cups (750 mL) all-purpose flour, (approx)

Preparation:

Gnocchi: In large bowl, stir together pumpkin purée, Parmesan cheese, egg, salt and nutmeg. Using wooden spoon, stir in 2 cups (500 mL) of the flour. Stir in enough of the remaining flour, 1/4 cup (60 mL) at a time, to make soft, sticky dough that pulls away from bowl but still sticks to spoon and fingers.

On well-floured surface and with floured hands, roll dough into log; divide into quarters. Gently roll and shape each quarter into 3/4-inch (2 cm) diameter rope. With sharp knife, cut each rope diagonally into 3/4-inch (2 cm) pieces.

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi, in 2 batches and stirring gently, until floating; about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, scoop onto large serving platter.

Meanwhile, in large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; cook pine nuts until lightly toasted and butter just begins to brown, about 2 minutes.

Add sage leaves; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Scrape over gnocchi; toss to coat.

Additional Information:

• Perfect Puree
  When choosing a cooking pumpkin, look for sugar pumpkins. These little gourds are firmer and sweeter than those grown for jack-o'-lanterns. The roasting time will vary depending on the size and age of the pumpkin or squash.
  
  Halve and seed pumpkin or squash. Prick skin all over with fork. Roast, cut side down, on rack on foil-lined baking sheet in 350°F (180°C) oven until flesh is browned and tender, 60 to 75 minutes. Let cool. Scoop out flesh and puree in food processor. Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 48 hours or freeze for up to 3 weeks.
  
  2 lb (1 kg) sugar pumpkin yields about 1-3/4 cups (425 mL) puree.
  
  2 lb (1 kg) butternut squash yields about 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) puree.
  

The Last week of Summer

Saturday afternoon at the Aguasabon River

My Girl Bean

Two weeks ago we brought Miss Bean to the traveling vet here. We were concerned about her breathing. He examined her and said with confidence that she was in tip top shape for a dog her age.

She had a very bad day Wednesday, she was in considerable pain. After a few calls to our vet in the city, we brought her there early early Thursday morning.

The vet discovered a growth on her thyroid and after further testing it was determined that she has thyroid cancer and it has spread to her lungs. She is home with us, for her last weeks or months. It is such heartbreaking news.

She's the last of our Inuit team.

She's such a good old girl.

wiky, miss bean, kinoje

11 years ago

Painted Turtle

we saw this painted turtle

a couple of weeks ago

while we were wading with Miss Bean

it is the first time I have seen a turtle around here

very cool!

Mmm look what is starting to ripen!!

our fave, the black blueberry

equally delicious, the blue blueberry

27 Years Ago Today ...

...Megan Willow came into our lives,

I am thankful for her!

I like her, she's a keeper!

Happy Birthday to Megan!!

Minnows

I have been watching these

minnows grow this past month

while we wade with Miss bean

in the river

minnows

July has been foggy and cool

fog on the Aguasabon River

swimming in the Aguasabon on one of our hot days

Miss Bean wading to cool herself down

she didn't enjoy the heat at all.

Foggy July

Fog on the Aguasabon River

swimming in the Aguasabon on one of our hot days

Miss Bean wading to cool herself down

she didn't enjoy the heat at all.

Smartweed

I found a patch of this wild flower while we were walking Miss Bean on the weekend. It is smartweed, from what we have read, it is gorgeous!

I have been trying for days to upload a photo to blogger, very happy I was finally able to!

Wild Strawberries

the yummy wild strawberries are ripe

Sticky Oven Ribs

sticky oven ribs, from food and drink magazine

(I made these ribs at Easter, they were very delicious)

braise
2 racks meaty pork ribs (4 to 5 lbs)
1 cup chicken stock

preheat oven to 375°

cut ribs into halves and fit into a single layer in a large roasting pan, meaty side down. pour broth over and tightly cover pan with tin foil. bake for 1 hour. ( I increased the amount of ribs, so I cooked them for 2 hours, my pan was double layered)

rub
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp paprika and garlic powder ( I used smoked paprika)
1 to 2 tsp cayenne
1tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

remove ribs from pan to cool. line a big baking pan with sides with tin foil. increase oven temperature to 425°
stir rub ingredients together.
dry ribs with paper towels. sprinkle and press the rub onto the meaty areas and put only a slight amount on the bony side. cut into single ribs.
Prop meaty side up single ribs against each other in the foil lined pan. bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes until browned and sizzling. drain fat from pan.

slather
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup chili sauce or ketchup
1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp cider vinegar

mix slather ingredients. slather meaty tops with 1/3 of the sauce. bake uncovered for 5 minutes. then turn ribs on their side and slather with 1/3 of the sauce, bake 5 minutes. finally turn ribs to the other side and slather one more time, bake 5 minutes or until glazed.
serves 6.

Camp

Last week Jay had to go to town for a medical appointment and when she got back to camp the next day she discovered a pipe under the bathroom sink had let go and the pump kept pumping water into the camp. It was a flood. The insurance company is taking care of the damages but in the process an infestation of carpenter ants was found. Thank goodness they found the ants, that would have been disastrous.

This little video is to show family who live away what we saw when we got there.

Let's hope they can get the camp back up and running quickly so Jay can get back out to camp.

My Sister Debbie

Debbie

My sister Debbie passed away on May 2nd

after a three year battle with cancer.

I miss her.

I was going to write a lot about her,

but can't seem to do it.

She will live long in my heart.

Snow Buntings

My mom spied these birds this afternoon, there were four of them. I have never seen a snow bunting with its white plumage before, I usually see them in their brown plumage. It was a thrill watching them, in the snow.

My Spring Tonic

Canadian geese winging their way north

love love love

hearing them

seeing them

welcome home babies!!

Craving the Summer Sun

late summer sunflower

I'm dreaming of summer

as we have a snow storm

Roasted Yam and Garlic Soup

yum!

a favourite soup from the rebar cookbook

Roasted Yam and Garlic with Smoked Chilies and Lime

6 cups vegetable stock

2 large yams

2 garlic bulbs, roasted

4 tomatoes

2 red peppers

2 tbsp oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 tsp salt

2 garlic cloves minced

2 tbsp minced sage

2 tbsp minced oregano

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ancho chili powder

pinch allspice

2 tsp chipotle puree

1 tbsp maple syrup

juice of a lime

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Using a fork, poke a few holes in each yam. Place on a baking tray and roast until soft and collapsed, about 45 minutes. You can roast the garlic bulbs at the same time. When the yams are tender, cool slightly and remove skins. Squeeze flash from the roasted garlic bulbs.

2. Halve and seed peppers. Place peppers and whole tomatoes on an oiled baking tray and roast until skins begin to puff and brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes. Peel away the skins and set aside.

3. Heat oil a large soup pot. Add onions and saute until transparent. Add garlic, spices and herbs and cook until garlic is golden. Stir in peeled, roasted vegetables, the stock and chipotle chilies. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Puree soup until smooth. Whisk in maple syrup, lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper and more chipotles if desired. Serve hot.

Serves 6. Yum!

(I made a few changes to the recipe, there was a couple of ingredients I didn't have so I made do..sometimes you have to in a small town)

Late afternoon walk

here I am

don't I look thin

hehe

love these long shadows of winter!

New Work in my Shop

pale grey glass and silver earrings

I love love love these hollow beads!

aqua rectangle copper and silver earrings

ice blue green recycled glass and copper necklace

Fine Feathered Friend

the ravens, and other birds enjoy Miss beans leftovers

love ravens!

February Fog

I took this photo out my front door,

a few minutes ago,

fog thicker than pea soup

Miss Beans Breath ...

makes fabulous frost patterns

on the inside

of the porch windows

Enough Snow

the greenhouse is slowly being buried

Background Noise

I will admit that I will be more than happy when the construction is finished on the long term care wing at the hospital, in our backyard. I am not sure what this contractor is doing but they have really noisy trailers, a constant drone in our day.

Late Afternoon ...

... at the beach

Spring Colours

New in my Etsy shop,

lovely cheery spring colours to brighten up a winters day!

blue green concentric glass and silver necklace

lemon lime glass and copper earrings

pink orange rubber and copper earrings

Beach Days

hanging out at the beach with Mark!

My New Best Friend??

I asked Mark to get me a recumbent exercise bike for my belated birthday and Christmas present. I did quite a bit of research, and chose the Tunturi F30R. It came this week, and Mark set it up for me yesterday.

The surgeon said this would be about the only exercise I can do. I only rode for about 5 minutes yesterday, my left knee is very sore even to the touch today. I am hoping it is the weather affecting the osteoarthritis and not the teeny bit of exercise I gave it yesterday. I am starting off slow and will gradually build time.

Fingers crossed that the bike and I will get along famously!

Tunturi F30R, my new best friend!

Waves in Ice

We went to the beach yesterday, it was so cold, not at all pleasant on bare fingers taking photos. I loved the wave patterns in the ice on the sandy shore.

Suet Eater

I was lucky enough to get a shot of this woodpecker having lunch at the suet Mark put out for the birds. The birds are very hungry birds in this cold weather we have been having.

I am not sure if it is a downey or a hairy woodpecker.